BITS & PIECES

Occasional review of coverage is a good idea

This photo was taken in one of Marion County’s many parks, but which park? Send your answer, along with your real name and your street mailing address to slyguy73@gmail.com and put contest in the subject line. The third correct answer will be declared the winner. Don’t forget your address; it’s mandatory.

Emory Schley

By Emory SchleyColumnists

Published: Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 30, 2014 at 9:20 p.m.

It is really difficult, especially as you get older, to keep up with all the details of financial matters, medical benefits, insurance coverage and other legal mumbo-jumbo. When I start hearing about such subjects, my eyes just glaze over and my brain turns into mush. When you can’t force yourself to get mentally engaged in such important matters, you risk making a wrong decision, one that could have life-changing consequences. Having someone guide you through the tangled “swamp” is a great advantage.

Dearly Beloved and I have had our ups and downs with various such pursuits here in Beautiful Marion County during the past almost-43 years we have lived here. For example, we once worked with an insurance agent from a major company who seemed to be a pretty decent sort of fellow — until he became a branch manager and then he, figuratively at least, unleashed a wolf pack on us. His minions might as well have chopped us up in little pieces and left us high and dry, bereft of insurance and the kind of support you need when seas turn stormy. What a nightmare.

We eventually signed up with an outfit my father used most of his life and swore by before he passed away in 1979. I always trusted Dad’s recommendations, and so I took his advice. Charlie Cook was the name of the new guy. Our amount of coverage increased and our rates decreased at the same time. Insurance-wise at least, we’ve been happy ever since then. We had our insurance with him for a number of years, until he retired and his accounts were distributed out to the company’s other agents.

The guy we have now — Scott Cameron of State Farm — calls or mails us every few years or so and invites us to come into his office where he reviews our various coverages, makes sure we’re getting top value for our hard-earned money, checks to see we’re getting all the discounts we are eligible for and offers us the opportunity to ask whatever questions we like concerning our coverage.

We like that, especially in a rapidly changing market. It’s a nice touch.

And, no, Cameron does not pressure us to buy more insurance, like the guy from that other company. He conducts a personal-needs survey, and he takes care to make sure we understand all the ramifications of our decisions.

All insurance people should do business like our current agent does. In our book, he gets four stars beside every service he offers. I, of course, can’t guarantee results — and I’m certainly not qualified to pass judgment on insurance professionals — but I can say we’re quite happy with him for quite a few years now.

WHERE IS IT?: Time for our monthly contest. I run a photo. You tell me where it was taken. If your answer is the THIRD correct one received, you get a prize. Simple, huh?

This photo obviously was taken in a park, but which park is what you need to tell me. Last month, all the entries were disqualified because they all failed to include their street mailing address with their entries. It’s mandatory to include that information because our prizes are mailed, and obviously we can’t mail them to you if we don’t know where to send them.

It’s a modest, but still nice, little prize valued at around $10 or so. But you also gain the right to brag all you want to your friends and neighbors. Plus get your name in the paper. So if you know where the accompanying photo was taken, send your answer (AND your address) to slyguy73@gmail.com and please put “CONTEST” in the subject line. The third correct entry will be judged the winner. That’s to offset any advantage readers who receive their papers early might have. So, not only do you have to know where the photo was taken, and include your address, you also have to use a bit of strategy in timing your submission.

The winner will be announced in Saturday’s column. Good luck.

Please send your comments to slyguy73@gmail.com and include your FULL name and town. This column appears each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and on-line at ocala.com.

<p>It is really difficult, especially as you get older, to keep up with all the details of financial matters, medical benefits, insurance coverage and other legal mumbo-jumbo. When I start hearing about such subjects, my eyes just glaze over and my brain turns into mush. When you can't force yourself to get mentally engaged in such important matters, you risk making a wrong decision, one that could have life-changing consequences. Having someone guide you through the tangled “swamp” is a great advantage.</p><p><strong>Dearly Beloved</strong> and I have had our ups and downs with various such pursuits here in <em>Beautiful Marion County</em> during the past almost-43 years we have lived here. For example, we once worked with an insurance agent from a major company who seemed to be a pretty decent sort of fellow — until he became a branch manager and then he, figuratively at least, unleashed a wolf pack on us. His minions might as well have chopped us up in little pieces and left us high and dry, bereft of insurance and the kind of support you need when seas turn stormy. What a nightmare.</p><p>We eventually signed up with an outfit my father used most of his life and swore by before he passed away in 1979. I always trusted Dad's recommendations, and so I took his advice. <strong>Charlie Cook</strong> was the name of the new guy. Our amount of coverage increased and our rates decreased at the same time. Insurance-wise at least, we've been happy ever since then. We had our insurance with him for a number of years, until he retired and his accounts were distributed out to the company's other agents.</p><p>The guy we have now — <strong>Scott Cameron</strong> of State Farm — calls or mails us every few years or so and invites us to come into his office where he reviews our various coverages, makes sure we're getting top value for our hard-earned money, checks to see we're getting all the discounts we are eligible for and offers us the opportunity to ask whatever questions we like concerning our coverage.</p><p>We like that, especially in a rapidly changing market. It's a nice touch.</p><p>And, no, Cameron does not pressure us to buy more insurance, like the guy from that other company. He conducts a personal-needs survey, and he takes care to make sure we understand all the ramifications of our decisions.</p><p>All insurance people should do business like our current agent does. In our book, he gets four stars beside every service he offers. I, of course, can't guarantee results — and I'm certainly not qualified to pass judgment on insurance professionals — but I can say we're quite happy with him for quite a few years now.</p><p><strong>WHERE IS IT?:</strong> Time for our monthly contest. I run a photo. You tell me where it was taken. If your answer is the THIRD correct one received, you get a prize. Simple, huh?</p><p>This photo obviously was taken in a park, but which park is what you need to tell me. Last month, all the entries were disqualified because they all failed to include their street mailing address with their entries. It's mandatory to include that information because our prizes are mailed, and obviously we can't mail them to you if we don't know where to send them.</p><p>It's a modest, but still nice, little prize valued at around $10 or so. But you also gain the right to brag all you want to your friends and neighbors. Plus get your name in the paper. So if you know where the accompanying photo was taken, send your answer (AND your address) to slyguy73@gmail.com and please put “CONTEST” in the subject line. The third correct entry will be judged the winner. That's to offset any advantage readers who receive their papers early might have. So, not only do you have to know where the photo was taken, and include your address, you also have to use a bit of strategy in timing your submission.</p><p>The winner will be announced in Saturday's column. Good luck.</p><p><em>Please send your comments to slyguy73@gmail.com and include your FULL name and town. This column appears each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and on-line at ocala.com.</em></p>